Boy Meets World: Generation II
by summerdaze87
Summary: Mr. Feeney and Mr. Turner meet some interesting new students: Patrick, Georgia, and Samantha Matthews the children of former students Cory and Topanga Matthews, and Shauna Matthews the daughter of Morgan Matthews and... Shawn Hunter?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Cory and Topanga move back to Philadelphia from New York with their high school-age children. Shawn moves back, as well- to discover an interesting secret Morgan Matthews has kept for fourteen years…  
A/N: My first published fic- be nice, okay? R & R, please!  
Disclaimer: I do not own Boy Meets World...

Sixteen-year-old twins Patrick Alan Matthews and Georgia Amy Matthews simultaneously closed their newly-issued lockers at John Adams High. It was their first day at their new school- the first day of their junior year of high school- and the Matthews twins were a bit nervous. And, while Georgie could easily admit that, her brother considered himself much too cool to show such a display of emotion. Georgie stood in front of Trick, as her twin had long ago been nicknamed, who leaned against his locker. "Well, at least we have the same classes," she said with a smile, liking the fact that she had her brother and best friend with her to help her through the transition. Trick lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug, but the wink he gave his twin told her all she needed to know- despite the fact that Trick considered himself way cooler than his younger-by-three-minutes sister, he was always there for his twin. Loyalty between siblings was something their Uncle Shawn and their dad had taught them- though, technically, Shawn Hunter was not their father's biological brother. That had never mattered, though- not to Cory or Shawn, not to their mother Topanga, and not to the twins- or their fourteen-year-old sister, Sam.

The bell rang then, signaling the beginning of what was sure to be a very interesting day. Trick slung an arm around his sister's shoulder, knowing Georgie was nervous. His twin tended to worry a lot- too much, in his opinion, but no matter how much he picked on her, he loved her and had promised his dad he'd look out for her. "C'mon, Georgie, it'll be cool- just think- we get to meet how many of Mom and Dad's old teachers?"

Georgie smiled at the reminder- they did, in fact, have a number of their parents' former teachers. Not to mention George Feeney was still the principal. Georgie couldn't wait to meet him- after all, she had been named after the man that had taught her parents and uncles so much about life.

Jonathon Turner stood, as usual, just outside his door and greeted his students with his usual charming smile as they all stepped inside and took their seats. He noted two students he'd never seen before- he was sure of that, despite the fact that they looked familiar to him somehow. One had only to look at them to know they were siblings- most likely twins, he thought- given the similarities in their physical appearances. They shared the same medium brown hair and hazel eyes, the same crooked smile- though the boy's was somewhat cockier than the girl's- the same face-shape, and several other traits.

When the second bell rang, he stepped to the front of the class, noticing that the siblings had chosen to sit beside one another in middle of his room. Somehow, he was sure that was an unspoken compromise between the two. Class began and he handed out various papers for the students to take home and share with their parents, and he told several jokes as he attempted to set them all at ease. In the twenty years he'd been teaching at John Adams, one thing that had not changed was his teaching style- he was still the easy-going teacher kids came to with their problems, and that was the way he liked it. However, no one had ever managed to sneak quite as far into his heart as three long ago students.

When class was over, the students rushed out of the room- another thing that never seemed to change, he thought with a laugh. The siblings- they were in fact twins, he had discovered- stayed and approached his desk. "You two are new here, aren't you?" he questioned with an easy smile.

The pair nodded and the boy, Patrick, handed him a note before giving him that cocky grin and leading his sister out of the room towards their next class. "What have you there, Mr. Turner?" The familiar voice belonged to his long-time friend George Feeney, who now stood in the classroom's doorway.

Jonathon shrugged and unfolded the note. He raised a graying eyebrow and looked at Feeney. "A note- addressed to you and me."

His friend neared his desk and declared, "Read it aloud."

Following the suggestion- which he knew was really an order- Jonathon began to read:

Mr. Tuner and Mr. Feeney-

It's been a long time since I've written that. By now, at least one of you has met our two oldest children, Trick and Georgie. I hate to break it to you, but that twilight-zone feeling you probably have right now- and if it hasn't hit yet, don't worry; I assure you, it will- isn't about to go away. Georgie, bless her heart, is a lot like her mother- only, thankfully, a lot quieter. She's a studious girl who prides herself on working hard and making good grades. Trick… Well, he's more like their uncle. I swear, it's a name-thing- you name a kid after George Feeney (that would be Georgie, naturally), and she turns out to be a lot like him: wise and understanding. Now, you name a kid after Shawn Patrick Hunter (Trick) and you end up with Shawn all over again. I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of one another, thanks to Trick. Warning: you will also meet our daughter Samantha. She's… well, Sam is more like me… Might I suggest running now?

With love,

Corey and Topanga Matthews

"Corey and Topanga Matthews," Jonathon repeated, a smile tugging at his lips. "Well, now, that certainly explains a lot." He looked up and noticed the tears pooling in George's eyes. "Didn't expect a namesake, huh, George?" he asked with a grin.

George shook his head and laughed, "We've just gone back in time twenty years, Jonathon- do you remember what the three of them were like as teenagers?" Both teachers shuddered at the memories. "This, my boy, is bound to be interesting."

Just then, two giggling teenage girls walked in. They were, Jonathon knew, freshman- his next class was completely comprised of freshman. They both looked up and Jonathon and George were both hit with that "twilight-zone feeling" Corey had eluded to in his note. It was as though they really had gone back to a day twenty years ago- the day Shawn had dressed-up as a girl as part of a rather interesting experiment, to be exact. One young girl looked just like Shawn- or, rather, "Veronica" as he'd been known for the period of time he'd been a "girl"- and the other was the spitting image of Topanga Lawrence-Matthews.

"Please, please, _please_ tell me Shawn Hunter is not a father," Jonathon whispered harshly to George, who appeared to have the same thoughts.

"Hi!" The Shawn/Veronica look-alike greeted cheerily. "I'm Shauna Matthews," she told the now-terrified pair.

"And I'm her cousin, Samantha Matthews," Topanga's double told them as she took her seat beside her new-found cousin. She hadn't known that her Aunt Morgan's daughter would be in Philadelphia- the last she'd heard, Morgan and her daughter lived in California, much to their grandparents' dismay. It had been so awesome to finally meet her cousin, though- it had only taken them about five minutes of conversation about how they had the same last name to discover this interesting fact.

The teenagers continued to babble as they took their seats in the front row, while George and Jonathon looked at one another in horrified shock. "Did she say _Matthews_?" George whispered to his friend, who simply nodded, unable to speak. "That could only mean…"

George's sentence trailed off and Shauna interrupted. "Have you two been here long? I mean, if you have, you might have known our parents- my mom's Morgan Matthews and my dad… Well, I know he went to school here, too, but I don't know… Anyway…" The teenager continued to talk at a rapid speed, but neither George nor Jonathon were listening anymore. Morgan Matthews and Shawn Hunter had a daughter…

"I would like to recall my previous statement- this year isn't going to be interesting," George told his friend, "it's going to be…" He seemed to search for a fitting word. When it became apparent to Jonathon that he wasn't having any luck, Jonathon filled in the blank for hi.

"How does "explosive" work?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Okay, forgot to put it in chapter one, so here it is now: I DO NOT OWN Boy Meets World, or any characters or references any loyal BMW fan may recognize. Trick, Georgie, Sam, and Shauna and anyone else you don't know- them, I do "own."

**Author's Note**: Sorry for taking like six million years to post this- I'm afraid I was struck with a rather infuriating bout of writer's block- please not that I refer to that as though it were an illness because, really, to me it is- it may even be worse than the flu in my book. Anyway, I think I know where I'm going with this story, at long last, so hopefully chapters will be more forthcoming! Hope you enjoy- remember to REVIEW!!!!

Chapter Two

As George stepped out of the room and into the familiar hallway that led to his office- an office he had returned to after a few years of teaching college- he found that his usually very organized mind had turned into a chaotic mess. Memories of the Matthews children growing up next door, of Shawn and Corey's brother-like bond, of Corey and Topanga's friendship and then courtship- of all the many ups and downs that the Matthews family, along with Shawn and his family, and George and Jonathon had faced together over those years- the memories flooded like water breaking through a dam as time replayed itself in his mind. And then there were the questions and the infinite possibilities for what lay ahead the rest of the school year- and, George was sure, beyond even that. It seemed that this was one family- for, really, they _were_ one family, in their eyes and in his- was destined to be a part of his life. Not just his past, but his present and future, as well. As he remembered the last time he had seen the group all together- Jack, Eric, Rachael, Shawn, Topanga, and Corey- all gathered in what had once been his classroom to say good-bye and he'd refused to admit aloud to them the love that he felt for them all, having watched them grown through the years and become fine adults and form a bond he was certain had lasted, even after all this time… As he remembered that day, and how he'd finally spoken the words in the silence of the classroom after they had departed, and a single tear had slipped down his face, he knew that there was no other way he would want things: whatever storms would come this year and next- and all the rest, and through all the moments of sadness and joy- he was thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it once again. His last thought on the subject as he stepped into his office and closed the door, preparing to get back to the work that was so much a part of him, was that he really did love them all.

In his classroom, Jonathon repeated the same routine he'd established twenty years ago- hand out papers, tell jokes, start to get to know the kids- but his thoughts never strayed far from the news he and his old friend had received after the first class. The three kids who'd made themselves at home in his heart so long ago were, at long last, home- and, apparently, the little family they'd created for themselves so many years ago had grown. Corey and Topanga had three children and Shawn had a daughter- with Corey's little sister, no less. Jonathon wasn't sure exactly how that last one had happened- of course, the last time he'd seen Morgan Matthews and Shawn Hunter in the same room, Morgan had been barely a teenager and Shawn had been heading off to New York with Corey and Topanga. He'd always been so sure that Shawn would end up with his high-school sweetheart Angela. Maybe he had- it was clear to Jonathon that Shawn didn't know he had a daughter with Morgan and, despite whatever had transpired between them that had led up to that rather interesting fact, the two were not a couple now. He knew that Morgan had been estranged from her family for several years now- well, not entirely estranged, really, but she had moved to California for college and never come home. She sent letters and called, and he'd heard she had a child, but until now… She hadn't come home. Had she known that Shawn was coming back? So many questions ran through his head, but the one that bothered him most was, with everything Morgan knew about Shawn's past, about his family and the life he'd had growing up- why had she kept his daughter a secret from him?

At the end of the day, when the final bell rang and kids raced to their lockers or the bus or whatever, Georgie and Trick stood waiting patiently for their little sister. Because they were in different grades, they had different lunch hours and the older siblings had worried about their little sister's first day of high school- granted, Georgie had been more open with her concern than Trick, but his had been there nonetheless. After all, he was the oldest child- even if it was technically only by three minutes- and he had promised his parents and his uncles and aunts that he would take of his sisters.

As they waited for Sam to show at the meeting place they'd designated earlier that morning- Trick and Georgie's side-by-side lockers- Trick found himself wondering how his parents' day, as well as his aunts' and uncles'- had gone. Job offers had serendipitously presented themselves for each of them around the same time, and many questions had arisen: did they separate their "family," which now included not only included Trick and his sisters, but four others as well, stay in New York, or move back to Pittsburgh… In the end, the best option- for many reasons- had been moving to Pittsburgh.

Corey and Topanga had been married four years when the twins came along and, two years later, Sam had been born. About a year before Sam's birth, Jack and Rachael, who'd been dating on and off for several years, had finally gotten married- ten months later, their first child, Ella, had been born. A month after that- because Rachael had adamantly refused to be a bridesmaid when she was "as big as a house," Eric and his girlfriend Kellie had married. Tyler, their first child, came along not long after, followed shortly by Jack and Rachael's son Blake. Soon after, Eric and Kellie's son Cameron had been born, followed closely by Jack and Rachael's third- and, Rachael had declared, final- child, Parker. As the oldest of the kids- who had always been a relatively close bunch, much like their parents- Georgie and Trick had always played the roles of "big brother" and "big sister" to all of them, not just Sam. All their life, their uncle Shawn- who'd vowed to remain a bachelor forever, having given up on love long before the twins had been born, uncle Jack, uncle Eric, aunt Kellie, aunt Rachael, their parents, and all the kids- they'd been a family in their own right. The friendships and bonds formed years ago- some as old as elementary school, whereas others had been formed in high school or college- had only grown stronger with the passage of time and through the trials and triumphs the group had faced.

When Sam finally appeared, it was with two other people- a boy and a girl. It didn't take either Trick or Georgie long to figure out who the boy was- their uncle Josh, who was only two years older than them and had never really been considered an uncle to them. However, because they hadn't grown up living practically right next door to him, as they had Jack and Rachael's kids and Eric and Kellie's, he was really more of a friend to them than anything else- a best friend, aside from each other, but not an uncle or a sibling. Not that it bothered Josh or anyone else, for that matter- it was just the way things were. The young girl, however, was a complete stranger to the twins. However, they were both glad to see that their younger sister had already made a new friend- it didn't really surprise them, since Sam had the same friendly and open personality as their father and was as bubbly and energetic as their mother.

Trick pushed himself away from the locker he'd been leaning on- he had a habit of leaning against things, it was part of his "charm," or so he claimed; Georgie tended to think it was just pure laziness on his part- and picked up his backpack, which he had dropped to the ground upon his arrival, ready to head to their grandparents' house- everyone was meeting at Alan and Amy Matthews' home, after a day spent either at work or at school, to catch up after a long weekend of unpacking and setting up their new homes. However, he hadn't even taken to steps when his youngest sister's words stopped him in his tracks.

"Look who I ran into! Our cousin Shauna!" The ever-talkative and energetic Sam squealed in excitement to her older siblings. None of them had ever met Shauna- in fact, none of them had ever so much as seen a picture of their cousin. That particular fact seemed quite odd to all of them, but they'd just figured Shauna wasn't the type of person who liked having her picture taken- a character trait she certainly couldn't have gotten from her mom, their aunt Morgan. "Shauna, this is Trick and Georgie," Sam continued, not noticing the questioning look that had made its way into each of her siblings' eyes. As Sam continued to babble, with Shauna immediately launching herself into a conversation with their sister that led the two to pretty forget that Josh, Trick, and Georgie were even there, the little group started to walk, eventually leaving the school and the campus and heading to Alan and Amy's house. The older three lagged behind the two chattering girls, each wearing the same quizzical expression. An unspoken question loomed in the air around them as they all racked their minds to come up with the answer- _where had they seen that girl before?_

Sam and Shauna reached the house first, having walked at about the same pace they talked, and immediately rushed upstairs to the guest bedroom- which had originally been Morgan's bedroom. Josh's bedroom was Corey and Eric's old one. A few moments later, the silent trio entered the house, still pondering that yet-to-be-answered question, just as their dad and their uncle Shawn came out of the kitchen, soda cans in each of their hands, laughing and elbowing each other in the side. The kids raised their heads from the ground their thoughtful gazes had been glued to and opened their mouths to speak when it the answer to their question finally dawned on them. Sharing looks of shock and disbelief, the three snapped their mouths closed and raced up the stairs to Josh's room without saying a word, leaving Shawn and Corey wondering what the heck they had missed. Assuming it was just some teenage thing, they brushed it off, figuring if it was anything major, someone would have spoken up or they would eventually find out- they always did. Upstairs, Georgie dropped her bag to the ground by the door and flung herself onto Josh's bed, while Josh and Trick dumped their bags right next to hers. Josh flopped into his desk chair and Trick fell to the floor, leaning his back against Josh's bed, near his sister.

"Oh…" Georgie started, still in a state of utter disbelief, and unable to say much…

"My…" A breath after Georgie's partial statement, Trick uttered another syllable…

"God," Josh finished the phrase without missing a beat.

One name kept running through each of their minds as they sat there in a stunned silence- Shawn.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own BMW, Cory, Topanga, Shawn, Eric, Rachael, Jack, Morgan, Alan, Amy, Joshua, George, or Jonathon. I do however own this AU-ish plotline and any characters you don't recognize from the show!

**A/N: **Again, sorry for the delay- a family emergency came up and writing was put on the back burner for a bit (well, typing and posting were, anyway…). Here's the next installment of my odd little story…

None of them knew how much time had passed- minutes or hours- since they'd fled to Josh's room to contemplate their latest discovery before they heard Cory and Shawn coming up the stairs, talking about how it felt like old times again. Their footsteps drew closer to Josh's bedroom, and a knock sounded on the door just before the two men entered.

Not that any of them would say it aloud- not with Cory and Shawn in the room, anyway- but they were all three very thankful that the best friends had not gone toward Morgan's old bedroom where Shauna and Sam had holed up.

Cory and Shawn took note of the blank looks on the kids' faces and sighed, knowing that something actually was up, contrary to their earlier thoughts. "What's going on?" Cory asked his oldest two children and younger brother.

While Cory's question was not directed at any of them in particular, Shawn leaned against the closet door and eyed his niece- if any of them were going to tell the truth, it'd be Georgie, he thought. However, her head was down and her chocolate brown hair hiding her face- she knew her uncle was staring at her, waiting for her to speak up. Josh and Trick could keep this to themselves- they were both good at keeping secrets, even if it meant lying to someone from time to time. Georgie's emotions were always written on her face, though- and Shawn Hunter had always been able to read his niece's face.

Georgie, like her siblings, was Shawn's godchild- and she was very close to her uncle. He was the person she went to when she didn't understand why her twin had pulled some stupid stunt or been a jerk unnecessarily because Shawn understood Trick better than anyone, with the two of them having similar personalities. Trick had always idolized Shawn, wanting to be just like his suave and cool uncle. Shawn, meanwhile, had a soft-spot for his quiet goddaughter- through her fear for her twin when Trick got into trouble, he saw what he'd put Cory and the rest of his "adopted" family through growing up, and he felt bad that his godson had picked up some of his less-than-stellar qualities over the years.

Shawn stepped away from the closet, shared a look with Cory, and crouched down in front of Georgie- and the look of fear that passed over both Josh and Trick's faces at the action did not go unnoticed by Cory, who inwardly sighed. Something big was going on, he was sure.

"Georgie, did something happen at school today?" Shawn asked, concern coloring his voice- the most likely scenario, he figured, was someone had been bothering Georgie, so Trick and maybe Josh had gotten involved, which had probably led to a fight, which would mean detention for the Matthews boys. On the first day of school, that would be especially bad, and Georgie being Georgie, might just feel that the situation was her fault and was probably helping the boys keep it a secret.

Slowly, Georgie raised her head to look at her uncle, a sad smile on her face. "I can't tell you, Uncle Shawn," she whispered, "I just can't." Her voice cracked slightly from holding back her tears. Of all the emotions she'd been overwhelmed with since putting the pieces of this particular puzzle together, the one that had hit her hardest was sadness- it broke her heart that someone who had been a part of her uncle's turbulent past and seen first-hand what his parents had put him through would keep his own child from him. Still, as much as she wanted to tell him what they'd discovered, it wasn't her place- that was a conversation she figured Morgan and Shawn would be having soon enough, she was sure.

Trick's heart went out to his twin- she was usually placed on the spot by their parents or uncles and aunts before he was because they all knew she was a horrible liar. He knew it was tearing her apart to keep this from their uncle, but this wasn't something Georgie should be telling him. Their aunt should have told Shawn long ago, but because she hadn't and the three of them had figured it out, they were now between the proverbial rock and a hard place- be the ones to break their uncle's heart and tell him Morgan had kept a child from him, or let Morgan explain herself in her own time… or when Shawn saw Shauna, really, because there was no way he would miss the resemblance. Heck, the girl was even named after him, for crying out loud!

Deciding he couldn't take the tears he saw rolling down his sister's face- he never had been able to handle seeing a girl cry, but it really got to him when it was Georgie because, even as soft as his twin was, she rarely cried in front of people- he spoke up, diverting the attention away from Georgie. "Yes, something happened at school today- but it's not what you guys are probably thinking. No one got into any trouble; I didn't do anything stupid to show how cool I am, okay?" Now everyone in the room was looking at him- Josh knowingly and with sympathy because he knew how hard this was on the twins since they had always been so close to Shawn as he'd lived across the street from them, Georgie with gratitude that he'd taken the spotlight off of her, and Cory and Shawn with open skepticism.

"He's telling the truth," Josh piped up, sticking up for his best friend. "No one got into any trouble today, I promise- it's just not our place to tell you what's going on, okay?"

A moment or two passed in silence as Cory and Shawn eyed the three teens, trying to determine if what Josh and Trick had said was indeed the truth, they nodded and Cory informed them, "Dinner's almost ready- why don't the three of you come help set the table, huh?"

Three heads bobbed up and down in agreement, and they all stood to leave the room. "Where's Sam?" Shawn asked as they started down the hallway to the stairs.

Panic set in once again as the teens wondered how to answer that question- had he seen Morgan yet? Did he know that she and her daughter were there? Should they tell them that Sam was in with Shauna? "Uh, she's in the guest bedroom," Georgie finally answered somewhat hesitantly.

"I'll go get her, then- she can help, too," Shawn declared, completely unaware that his words set off alarms in their minds.

"No!" Georgie, Trick, and Josh screeched in unison, horrified expressions on all of their faces. "Uh, I'll get her- you know how much Sam hates when you guys just barge in on her- she'll give you a lecture about not knocking or not waiting for her to reply or something and you don't want that, right? Right." Okay, so she was babbling, but it seemed to work because her dad and uncle just nodded and continued down the stairs, with Trick and Josh following close behind.

Letting out a whoosh of air she hadn't known she'd been holding, she knocked on the guest bedroom door and opened it just enough to pop her head in and say, "Dinner's almost done- we're supposed to go down and help set-up," before pulling it closed once more and racing down the stairs and into the kitchen.

She pushed open the kitchen door just as her grandmother said, "Morgan will be here, along with Shauna, so add two more place-settings, boys," to Trick, who was putting silverware around the table, and Josh, who was doing the same with the plates.

Her grandfather, who had been grilling hamburgers out back, stepped inside just long enough to say, "I need something to put these things on!" before going back outside and closing the screen door, turning his attention back to his task.

Georgie quickly took a platter from the appropriate cupboard, since everyone else was occupied, and walked outside. "Here you go, Grandpa," she said, standing on tip-toe to brush a kiss across her grandfather's cheek as she held the platter for him to place the burgers on.

"Thanks, squirt," Alan replied with a grin. "How was your first day at school?"

"Alright, I guess," she said as fresh waves of panic and guilt hit her. "I, uh, guess the best part was getting to meet Mr. Feeney and Mr. Turner, since I've heard so much about them over the years, you know?"

Though Topanga and Cory had visited over the years, it had usually been during the holidays and George Feeney had taken up touring the world on his vacations, wanting to see some of the historical places he'd taught about for so many years. "Are you in one of Jonathon's classes, then?" Alan questioned his granddaughter with a smile. At her nod, he added, "That's good- he's a great guy. I'm sorry we've lost touch over the years. Now that everyone's back, we should have him and George both over one night with everyone else to catch up."

"I think that'd be great, Grandpa, but you probably need to run that one by Grandma," she teased, eliciting a chuckle from her grandfather.

"You're probably right," he agreed with a nod of his own. "So, do you and Trick have any classes together?"

"Oh, only all of them," Georgie replied with a laugh. "I'm okay with it, though- he'll probably get tired of having me in all of his classes, but I kind of like that he's around."  
Alan understood what his granddaughter was telling him- Georgie's studious ways and quiet manner tended to make her an easy target for teasing and bullying. People seemed to know not to get on Trick's bad-side, though, and generally left Georgie alone when her twin was around. As he piled the last of the burgers on the platter, he gave her a knowing smile and turned to go inside, swinging one arm wide and motioning for her to go ahead of him. "Ladies first, squirt."

Georgie giggled as she pulled the screen door open and entered the kitchen once more. Her mother handed her a bowl of salad to place on the table so that she herself could carry a basket of rolls and a bowl pasta salad. Once the dishes had all been set down on the now very full table, Trick handed his sister a soda from the fridge.

"So, Mom, where's Morgan? Didn't I hear you say she was going to be here tonight with Shauna?" Cory asked as everyone started to take their seats. As usual, Trick, Georgie, and Josh sat side-by-side at the large table, with Georgie in the middle- at that moments, she was holding their hands under it, wondering what would happen when Shawn saw his daughter. Her two best friends squeezed her hands to let her know that they both knew what she was thinking- of course, they were wondering the same thing.

Before Amy could reply, Morgan herded her daughter and niece into the kitchen. Shauna and Sam were both walking backward as they spoke rapidly to Morgan, and Morgan wore an amused expression. Silence fell in the crowded room as Shauna and Sam turned to face the rest of their family- Morgan's hands fell to her daughter's shoulders. "Hi, everyone!" she exclaimed to hide her nervousness- the last time she'd been in this kitchen had been the day after she'd graduated high school. "It's so awesome to see you guys again- and to meet my nieces and nephew!" Noticing that everyone's eyes seemed to be glued to her daughter, she took a deep breath. As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep her own gaze from searching out and landing on Shawn Hunter. When it did, she locked her eyes with his startled gaze and declared, "And introduce you to my beautiful daughter, Shauna Elizabeth Matthews."

Around the table-which was really two three long folding tables they brought out when the whole family was around, and now included the _entire_ Matthews clan: Jack and Rachael and their children, along with Eric and Kellie and their crew, as well as Shawn, Cory, Josh, Topanga, the twins, and Sam- all but three jaws were hanging open in disbelief and astonishment and gazes flickered between Morgan, Shauna, and Shawn. Josh, Georgie, and Trick merely held one another's hands that much tighter and glued their own eyes to the food in front of them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **I am so sorry it has taken so long to update! Really, really sorry! I am a college student and live with my grandparents, and my grandfather has cancer. He caught a really bad flu-bug, and it's been pretty persistent. I've been taking care of him for the past few weeks, and it's really wiped me out! By the end of the day, I might read the new chapters of stories I get alerts on, but my mind is pretty much fried after that and the only thing I want to do is try to get a couple of hours of sleep. I love writing and it's a great outlet for me, but it takes a lot of energy, LOL. I am going to finish this story, it just might take longer than I had anticipated because my family is more important than my writing. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story and keep reviewing! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far; you all are great!

**Disclaimer: **I'm not sure who own _Boy Meets World_ now, but it's certainly not me!

Chapter Four

Morgan stood silently before her family, feeling like she was experiencing the calm before the storm. Every muscle in her body tensed as she waited for their reactions- more specifically, as she waited for Shawn's reaction. It was quite clear from the looks of pure astonishment and disbelief on most of their faces that they'd seen the unmistakable resemblance between Shawn and Shauna. The flash of hurt and anger that flashed across Cory and Topanga's faces didn't go unnoticed by Morgan, and she felt the twinge of regret she'd almost constantly felt since deciding to stay in LA begin to consume her. She hated that she'd hurt her family, her friends… and Shawn. The hardest decision she'd ever made had been to remove herself from Shawn Hunter's life.

Shawn sat quietly, face expressionless, as he waited for Morgan to say something more. When she didn't, he finally gave in just a little to the anger coursing through his veins and stood so abruptly, he knocked over the chair he'd been sitting in and stormed out of the kitchen into the backyard without a word. Though he was yelling in his mind, his voice refused to cooperate- which was probably a good thing, since none of the things he was screaming in his head were suitable to say in the presence of children and that certainly wasn't the first impression he wanted to make on his daughter.

_My daughter_, he thought wryly, _my daughter with Morgan Matthews, of all people._ As he took a seat on the old swing, his minded drifted back to the night of Morgan's senior prom. It had been held at a fancy hotel, and tons of kids had predictably gotten rooms for the night there. Shawn had booked a room for a few nights since he'd only been supposed to stay in Philadelphia for a little bit on business. He'd met up with Angela earlier that afternoon and she'd broken off their relationship once again, which had sent him running to the hotel bar. A few drinks too many, a run-in in the elevator with Morgan and a guy who'd been trying to get a little too friendly with her against her wishes, a fight and a kiss later, and somehow he and Morgan- who had been a little tipsy herself- had wound up back in his room. She'd snuck out of the room before dawn and Shawn, not knowing what the heck the protocol was for the morning-after when the girl involved was your best friend's barely eighteen-year-old sister, had tried to forget it in the hopes that he and Morgan would both just write the night of as an indulgence of drunken stupidity. The next time- and the last time, at least for almost fifteen years- he'd seen her had been the day she'd graduated high school. The whole day had seemed sort of bittersweet, since everyone knew that Morgan would be going off to school at UCLA, and there had been lots of tears. Since he'd never been good with tears and emotional displays, he'd snuck out of the party Amy and Alan had thrown for their only daughter early, without spending so much as a minute alone with Morgan.

Maybe he should have called her after prom night, or maybe he should have tried to talk to her at her graduation party rather than avoiding her like the plague, or he should have gotten in touch with her at some point over the past fifteen years. He should have realized something was amiss- Morgan and her parents had always been pretty close, it hadn't made sense that she'd stayed away. But he hadn't thought about that- he'd just been grateful there hadn't ever been any awkward conversations about the night he'd slept with his best friend's sister…

He didn't understand why Morgan hadn't called him, though, or why she hadn't gotten in touch with him. Why she hadn't told him he had a child. What possible reason could she have thought was good enough for keeping their daughter from him? Did she think he would end up a dead-beat dad like Chet? That he wouldn't want anything to do with her and the baby? Had she been afraid of what everyone would say?

He looked over at the house next-door- the familiar and well-tended to garden, the patio furniture, the window Mr. Feeney had replaced more than once after Shawn or Cory or Eric had broken it with a Frisbee or a baseball. How many times had he stood beside that white picket fence and listened as Mr. Feeney taught him some valuable life lesson or gave sound advice about friendship and love and family? He didn't know- what he did know was that he needed George Feeney's advice now, perhaps more than he ever had in the past. When he saw the white-haired man who'd steadfastly refused to give up on him during some of the roughest patches of his life cross in front of the French doors, he motioned with his hand for him to come outside and stood, taking his place at the fence as he had so many times before.

He felt like a fourteen-year-old kid himself again as he stood there, trying to find the words to explain how he felt and why he needed his mentor's help, and he was profoundly grateful to Mr. Feeney for being such a kind and compassionate man.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Hunter," George greeted his former student in the same way he had a million times before. "From the bewildered look on your face, I'd say you've had a run-in with a young girl who bears a striking resemblance to your short-lived alter-personality." When Shawn only raised an eyebrow at him, Feeney continued. "Jonathon and I had the rather… interesting pleasure of meeting young Shauna earlier this morning- she's in his freshman English class, you know. She walked in with Samantha, chatting quite happily, might I add. Needless to say, Jonathon and I found ourselves taking a little trip down memory lane- between Samantha's resemblance to Topanga and Shauna's to you, for a moment it was almost as though we were reliving a moment in time."

Shawn shook his head- he didn't know what to say to any of that. Heck, he simply didn't know what to say. The whole situation had thrown him for a loop. He cleared his throat and said, "Yeah, Morgan walked into the kitchen and introduced us all to Shauna a few minutes ago- we all just sat there, staring at her and Shauna, and I felt like… I don't know, Mr. Feeney, like I couldn't breathe, I guess. I kept waiting for her to say something- anything- and give me an explanation. I deserved to know, didn't I? And I deserve to know why I never knew."

Mr. Feeney sighed heavily. He was more than a little uncertain as to what to say to comfort the man standing before him since he himself had been having the same thoughts all day. "Yes, you certainly did- and do, Shawn. I have to admit I find myself more than a little curious as well. I'm sure Morgan had her reasons, though, Shawn- and that, whatever they may be, they must have seemed immensely important to her at the time she made her decision. After all, she made great sacrifices to keep her secret. I'm not excusing her actions, mind you, merely suggesting that you ask Morgan what was going through her mind when she decided to keep your daughter from you. And, judging by the way her face is pressed up against that door and how she's wringing her hands together, I'd hazard a guess she's ready to try to give you that explanation now."

He reached over the fence and placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "You have every right to make a fuss, Shawn, but for your own sake- as well as your daughter's- I'd try to keep a tight reign on my temper if I were you. Your anger is understandable, but it won't do anyone any good to allow that anger to take control right now."

Shawn shoved his hands into his pocket and solemnly nodded his head. "Thanks, Mr. Feeney," he replied with a genuine smile. "I think I'm calm enough to talk to her now," he added, relieved to find the statement truthful. With a nod of his own, George spun on his heel and headed back into his house, feeling somewhat rejuvenated- it was nice to know that, even after so many years, he was still needed by this group of kids who'd reached out to him so long ago.

Shawn watched until Mr. Feeney had gone back inside before turning to face Morgan, who had quietly stepped out onto the patio when Mr. Feeney had turned away. Just as George had said, her hands were clasped tightly in front of her and she seemed to be trying to tie them in knots. Her gaze darted here and there, all over the backyard of the home they'd both grown up in, before finally landing on his own. She stood just in front of the door, about as far away from him as she could get while still being in the backyard with him- except maybe unless she climbed the ladder up to the tree house.

"I'm not going to try to guess how you feel- you always hated when people did that," she started somewhat hesitantly, "but I'm sure you want to know why I never told you and why I went to such great lengths to keep Shauna a secret from you. Or at least, to keep the fact that you're her father a secret. I'm sorry for that, Shawn, really I am, though I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe that or care about how I feel one way or another, at least not about how I feel right now. I want you to try to understand how I felt right then, though, when I first found out I was pregnant.

"When I found out, I had already been in LA a couple of weeks. We hadn't talked since the night of prom- and even then, we didn't really do much talking. You seemed to be avoiding me after that, and I figured you regretted it- understandably, since we were both drunk and you were with Angela. I thought you just wanted to forget about it and go on with your life with Angela, and teenage insecurity coupled with pregnancy hormones didn't help my decision-making process any. I knew how much you loved her, how hard you'd tried so many times over the years to make that relationship work and I knew that if I told you I was pregnant, that would all be over. I knew it would come between you two and I didn't want to be the reason you guys didn't work out. It's selfish, I know, but I was only eighteen- and maybe that's not a good enough excuse, but it's all I have. I was eighteen, scared, and I felt so alone, Shawn. You're like another son to my mom and dad; I didn't want to cause a rift between you and them. I didn't want them to hate you or to get mad at you, so I decided not to come home for a while. I told them I was pregnant, but never told them who the father was. They were disappointed, of course, and wanted me to come back home, but I knew I'd have to face you if I did, and I wasn't ready to do that. So, I kept putting it off and before I knew it, a few weeks became a few months and that turned into years… Fifteen years. I got a job offer out here and Shauna was so excited… I guess I finally realized that I was being selfish and hurting her, too, and the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt her, Shawn. I never wanted to hurt any of you- you or my parents or anyone."

By the time she finished, tears were welling up in her eyes and she was trying desperately not to let them escape and trail down her cheeks. Her fingers were numb because she'd been holding them so tightly, and she wanted to run as far and as fast as possible. She'd loved Shawn Hunter since she was her daughter's age, and it had broken her heart when she'd realized she'd never have a chance with him. It had nearly destroyed her when she'd found out she was pregnant with his child, a souvenir from a night he would have rather never happened. She was fully prepared for him to hate her for keeping Shauna from him- she'd known from the moment she'd decided she couldn't and wouldn't tell him that he would eventually find out and that he'd absolutely hate her for it. The thought didn't thrill her by any means, but she was didn't think it was possible for him to break her heart any more than he already had all those years ago. When several long seconds that seemed like light-years to Morgan had passed in silence, an idea suddenly struck her and she asked, "Where is Angela, anyway? I mean, I expected you guys to have a ton of kids like everyone else in there by now."

Up until the second she asked that question, Shawn had still been seething with anger, though he'd been trying to understand how she must have felt. As much as he wanted to hate Morgan Matthews for keeping their child from him, he found that he couldn't because he did understand what she was telling him. As scared and confused and alone as he'd often felt through-out so much of the first twenty or so years of his life, he understood more easily than he liked what the still-young-looking blond in front of him must have been feeling when she'd ended up pregnant and alone on the other side of the country when she thought he was still with his ex-girlfriend.

"We broke up- the afternoon of your prom," he added with a resigned sigh as he ran a hand through his spiked hair. "But I didn't tell you that that night, did I?"

A ghost of a smile flitted across Morgan's face and she said, "Honestly? I think I was too drunk to remember if you did or not."

Shawn gave a weak smile of his own and asked, "Why didn't you ever ask your parents? Or your brothers? They would have all told you what happened."

Morgan shrugged, loosening her grip on her hands just a little as she began to feel some of the tension leave her stiff muscles. "It hurt to much- I knew if I asked about you, I'd want to see you. And, honestly, the idea of seeing you happily married to Angela didn't make me feel too great, as much as I wanted you to be happy."

There was another, shorter, pause as Shawn took a moment to mull that statement over in his head. There seemed to be something she still wasn't saying, and Shawn figured there had been enough secrets kept between them. "Why did it matter so much that Angela and I were happy? Why did you care so much?"

She briefly wondered if she could just tell him she cared because he was practically family, being Cory's best friend for so long and all, but the penetrating look he was giving her right then made her wonder if he could see straight to her soul, as silly as that sounded. Besides, she thought full-disclosure was probably the best idea, with everything that had happened.

With a sigh and a sad smile, she quietly told him, "Because I love you- when I was fourteen, I had the biggest crush on you, Shawn. And somewhere along the line, I fell for you. I knew you weren't interested, but that didn't stop me from dreaming about our wedding or what our kids would look like, but I never planned to tell you that. I wanted you to be happy because when you love someone like that, you put them ahead of yourself. I thought that's what I was doing by not telling you about Shauna- giving you the opportunity to be happy and putting your happiness above my own. That might have been my intent, but things didn't exactly go according to plan."

Okay, now that certainly hadn't been the answer he'd been expecting- not that he was really sure what he'd been expecting. He didn't know how to respond to it, either. "I'm still mad at you, you know, but… I get it. Sort of. I don't like it, but if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that people screw up but that doesn't necessarily mean they shouldn't be given a second chance. I've sure gotten a lot of them over the years- mostly from the people sitting right in there," he said as he pointed to the house.

He shook his head once again and wondered of Cory, Eric, and Alan were going to kill him for getting Morgan pregnant when she was barely eighteen as he strode forward and tried to reassure Morgan that things would work out somehow by wrapping an arm loosely around her shoulders. He realized she was shaking and knew it couldn't be because it was cold, since the temperature was well into the eighties. He turned her around and looked down at her, his arm still around her shoulders. "I'm still mad and still hurt, Morgan, but I'm not the hot-tempered kid I used to be. I want to get to know our daughter, but I'm not going to try to take her away from you. I haven't forgiven you yet, and you can bet that it will take a while, but we both know that Amy and Alan and even Mr. Feeney and Mr. Turner taught me how much you can forgive by forgiving me for a lot of the hurtful things I said and did. I'm not totally blameless in all of this, since I had just as many opportunities to contact you and didn't, and I know that. We will get past this, okay? Just give me some time, Morgan. I might not like you very much right now, but I've known you since you were born and loved you almost as long. This doesn't change that, just like all the times I screwed up didn't change how Cory and your parents and Topanga and Jack feel about me, okay?"

Morgan nodded her agreement and Shawn gave her a little hug, all the while thinking about what he'd just said- he'd loved her as a kid, he knew. As a baby, she'd wrapped everyone around her around her little finger. As she'd grown up, he'd always figured he was kind of like another big brother to her. But did he love her as something more? The idea that he might have to just to be willing to make things right with her and not yell at her and let all the pain he and confusion he felt out crossed his mind and along with it the question of why things had never worked out with Angela- and why he hadn't ever tried again after prom. Was he in love with Morgan Matthews? A thousand different memories played through his mind like a movie, times when they'd hung out on the couch or chased each other around the living room, times he'd pretended to rescue her from Eric or Cory, or when he'd gotten over-protective about her going on dates, and he realized that he didn't have to think too hard about that question because the answer had been in front of him for years- he was in love with her.

_Great, hell of a time to realize that one, Hunter_, he thought as he released her from the hug.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I am so sorry for the delay- geez, I say that a lot… LOL… Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! I had fun writing this one- it gets a little fluffier than any of the others, I think, but I also think that it fits with the story (or I wouldn't be posting it), and remember what channel BMW was on, LOL… It's a very family-oriented chapter, but I think it shows how everyone's grown up… Read and review, okay?

**Disclaimer: **Still. Not. Mine.

Chapter Five

Though she wasn't going to argue with Shawn's amiability, Morgan couldn't help but be shocked by his demeanor. The man standing beside her was not the short-tempered, quick-to-act, speak-before-he-thought teenager from her youth. The usual spark of his temper still flashed in his eyes, but instead of lashing out at her as the old Shawn would have done, he'd listened to her side of the story, heard her reasons for her actions. Shawn Hunter really had grown up.

As she and Shawn stepped back inside, Morgan noted with a hint of amusement that everyone in the kitchen suddenly jerked their attention from the direction of the backyard back to their meals and one another in a humorous attempt to appear innocent of intense curiosity.

Nobody knew quite what to say- Trick, Georgie, and Josh were practically on pins and needles, anticipating a severe grilling, and everyone else was just stumped- how had Shauna's paternity remained a secret for so long?

Cory locked eyes with his best friend, curious to see what he would find in Shawn's gaze. He expected, as they all did to see pain and anger in those brown pools. Those emotions were certainly present, but they seemed to have taken a backseat to something that made Shawn's gaze go soft. There was love in those muddy depths, years of knowing Shawn told Cory that, but he wasn't sure who that love was for- his daughter, naturally, but was it also meant for Morgan?

After inhaling deeply, Morgan walked over to her daughter and rested her hands on Shauna's slender shoulders. Shawn stepped into Shauna's line of vision and Morgan said, "Sweetie, that," she motioned to Shawn, "is Shawn Hunter- your father."

Morgan kept her blue eyes on Shawn, while Shawn's attention was riveted on Shauna, and Shauna's eyes darted here and there, all around the table, before she met her father's gaze. She didn't have any idea what to say, so she just offered him a smile.

Shawn could see his daughter's nervousness and understood it. There was so much he wanted to say to her, to ask her, but this didn't seem like the appropriate setting. Instead, he returned her smile, which had been a mirror image of his own in the first place, and reclaimed his seat at the table.

Only once he'd reseated himself did he look toward Trick, Georgie, an Josh knowingly. He almost laughed at their obvious discomfort, but took pity on them instead and turned his reassuring grin on them. He gave into a small chuckle when he saw them all visibly release the air it seemed they had been holding.

As Shawn looked around the table, with its occupants now eagerly digging into their dinners to compensate for the lack of conversation, Shawn didn't bother to conceal the contentment he felt and was sure it was written across his face. He couldn't help but feel there were people missing, though, and cast his eyes heavenward, feeling as though his father was looking in on this momentous occasion. Chet wasn't the only one missing, though, and Shawn decided that, since he had the ability to remedy the situation, he would.

With barely half of his meal eaten, Shawn rose and walked over to Amy, the woman he'd come to think of as another mom over the years, and whispered a question in her ear. When she nodded, Shawn smirked, slapped Cory on the shoulder to get him to stand, kissed Shauna on the crown of her head and promised he'd be right back before leading Cory out of the house.

Though Shawn grabbed the keys to his truck off the counter, he led Cory into the backyard and leapt over the fence into Mr. Feeney's backyard- careful not to land on any of the flowers as he wasn't very excited about the prospect of being lectured by George Feeney- and knocked on the French doors.

"Um, what exactly are we doing here, Shawnie?" Cory asked, more than a little confused by his friend's actions.

Before Shawn could reply- not that Cory was entirely certain he would have- Mr. Feeney pulled open the door. Since the elderly man had just spoken to Shawn not long ago, he was more than a little surprised to see both Shawn and Cory on his back porch.

"I trust the pair of you haven't mangled my roses on your journey over here," he told the young men, still mildly astounded that the two mischievous youths he had known so many years ago had grown into such fine young men.

Cory turned his head to double-check, just to be on the safe side, and Shawn flashed a roguish smirk before turning serious and saying, "We're having a sort of family night at the Matthews', and almost everyone is there- with a few exceptions. We're here to fix that."

"Fix that?" George inquired curiously, one gray eyebrow finely arched.

Shawn nodded, and Cory- having realized Shawn's intent- mimicked the motion. "We will drag you kicking and screaming if we have to, Feeney, but you are a part of this family, like it or not," Shawn told him, smirk still firmly in place.

Years ago, when they'd been the age their children were now, neither one off them would have- nor did they- so freely admitted that, least of all Shawn Hunter. It had always been there, though, in the backs of their minds. Shawn was the honorary third Matthews' son, and George Feeney was like a favorite grandfather they'd always gone to for advice. To Shawn, who had never felt like he'd had much of a family growing up, the past twenty years or so had been a real eye-opener, during which he had discovered what a great family he'd had all along.

For a startled moment, George Feeney merely stared at the two men, not seeing them as they were now, but rather as if they were thirteen again. He had watched them grow, had taught them lessons they carried with them to this day, had helped them become the men standing before him. In many ways, he thought of Cory and Shawn as the grandchildren he had never had- probably because he'd never had children, either. He liked to think of Amy and Alan as his children, though, for they had been such a large part of his life.

And as tears pooled in their dear mentor's eyes for the second time that day, he calmly stated, "I don't believe anything quite so drastic will be required- it would be my honor to join you all."

The two friends smiled at one another and Shawn asked, "Cor, could you walk him over? I have one more family member to collect- we'll be back in time for some of Mom's apple pie."

Years ago, when he'd finally stopped calling Amy "Mrs. Matthews," Amy had been delighted into tears to have Shawn call her "Mom." Alan had become "Dad," and Shawn didn't feel at all guilty, knowing that his father had always accepted the Matthews' place in his life and even been glad for it. They would never replace Chet and Verna, but they had always been a more stable and reliable set of parents to him.

Cory nodded, fairly confident in his guess of who the "one more family member" was, and proud of Shawn for coming up with this idea.

Fifteen minutes later, Shawn pulled up outside a familiar apartment building and rode the elevator up to an apartment he had once lived in. He knocked on the door and waited for it to open. When it did, he came face to face with a very startled-looking Jonathan Turner.

Feeling as though he was sixteen again, Shawn tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans and grinned, "How are you, Jonathan?"

Though he desperately wished he had kept in touch with Shawn Hunter over the years, Jonathan was forced to admit the most he'd seen of the formerly rebellious teenager had been that morning when he'd been looking at Shauna Matthews. That is until now. Never in a million years had he expected Shawn to show up on his doorstep.

Finally snapping out of it, Jonathan replied, "I'm doing good. You?"

Shawn stepped into the apartment, not feeling it necessary to wait for an invitation and said, "I have a daughter," with a proud smile on his face.

With a nod, his former teacher said, "Yeah, I know- she's in one of my classes."

Shawn couldn't help but laugh at that- poor Mr. Turner was going to feel like he was back in time twenty-some years ago here pretty soon.

"We're all having dinner and pie at Mom and Dad's tonight," Shawn told him, successfully baffling Jonathan.

"Mom and Dad?" he asked, very confused by the statement- hadn't he heard that Chet was dead?

"Amy and Alan Matthews," Shawn replied, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Okay, now that shocked him. It probably shouldn't have, but it did. "Ah, I see," he told Shawn, not knowing what else to say or where Shawn was taking this line of conversation.

"We'd like for you to join us," Shawn told him, anticipating a rejection from Jonathan.

As expected, the teacher arched an eyebrow and said, "I wouldn't want to interfere- it's a family thing, I'm sure."

With a smirk, Shawn looked him in the eyes and clearly stated, "You are family, Jonathan. You have been since I was fifteen."

Dumfounded, Jonathan couldn't find the words to tell Shawn what that simple statement meant to him, so he merely nodded and followed a grinning Shawn out the door, all the while marveling at how much Shawn Hunter had grown up. This was the young man they had all known was lurking somewhere under that gruff bad-boy exterior; the reason Amy, Alan, George, Jonathon, Topanga and, most especially, Cory had fought so hard to bring out by letting Shawn know he was more than "trailer-trash," as Shawn himself had so often declared.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Okay, so, again, very sorry for the delay- in addition to all the other craziness, we are in the process of looking for another house and moving… joy…. Anyway, here is the next chapter- thank you all so much for sticking with me. This chapter is short on dialogue- as in, there is none, and sets the groundwork for the next part of the story- which will have lots of dialogue. The next chapter will be lots of Shawn and Shauna bonding.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned it, I'd be selling it right about now…

**Chapter Six**

By the time Shawn returned, the largely extended Matthews family had moved from the kitchen to the living room. Each and every one of them looked up and ceased the conversations they had been engaged in when the doorknob turned, eagerly waiting to see who Shawn had brought home with him. And when Shawn led none other than Jonathan Turner through the front door, tears filled the eyes of the man's former students- and the eyes of some of his new students, too.

Amy Matthews was the first to rise from her seat, which had been alongside her husband on the couch, and she moved to embrace Jonathan with the same openness she had some twenty years before. It seemed incredible to him that this mix-and-match group gathered around him was still together, though they had certainly added to it, and that the love he'd always found within these walls had remained as unconditional as ever.

When Amy released him, Cory and Topanga stepped forward and hugged him. Two people he'd watched grow and change through school, watched as they'd battled high school demons and fears- and overcome them all. In their own ways, these two people, now parents of children he was sure would prove to be just as amazing and endearing as they themselves were, had taught him as much as he hoped he had taught them.

Shawn watched the reunion with misty eyes of his own, though he would never make that claim out loud. He relished the sense of rightness that washed over him in waves as he watched his family members together. He was a man who had been lucky enough, or blessed enough, to have had two fathers and two mothers, each of whom had loved him in their own ways, though it had taken him years to realize it. He was a man who had known a brother's love his entire life, with Cory and by extension Eric, who had never failed to treat him as another little brother. And still, he had been lucky enough to find Jack and be able to build a relationship with him as well, and be there to watch Joshua Matthews grow up.

And the people in this room- a room that seemed to have been frozen in time, with its familiar pictures and furniture and ivory walls- had been there to see him at his worst and at his best, as well as every point in between, and loved him still.

George Feeney, whether he ever admitted it aloud or not, loved them all, just as they loved him, and was the wizened old grandfather to whom each and every one of them would listen.

Amy and Alan were the parents that had raised most of the children who had grown to be parents in this rowdy bunch, and had opened their hearts and their home to the rest- and taught all of them how to do the same.

And Jonathan was a favorite uncle that you knew would always be there- whether it was to lend an ear or twenty bucks, to give you a roof over your head or sound advice, he would always help.

Yes, this was his family- and the young girl with the dark brown hair and mischievous eyes was his daughter, a fact that still made Shawn feel as if he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

He knew where each and every one of these people belonged in his life, even Morgan- whose place, he knew, was right beside him as they lived out the rest of their lives together and raised Shauna and any other children they might be fortunate enough to have.

Now all he had to do was make Morgan see that and, as his gaze met his daughter's own laughing eyes across the room as she teased her cousins, he knew that he had the perfect ally.

**0o0o0o0o**

Her entire life, Shauna had heard her father's name… never. Had her mom talked about the man she'd fallen in love with, even though she'd known she probably shouldn't have, when she was a teenager? Of course- Shauna had heard as many stories about her uncle Cory and the man who's name she now knew to be Shawn and the sometimes stupid, sometimes funny, and sometimes touching things they'd done growing up as any of her cousins. And she had treasured each and every one of them because she'd known that the Man Without a Name, as Shawn Hunter had been known in her household, was her father.  
She'd been so excited by the possibility of meeting her father when her mom had first told her they were moving to Philadelphia that she hadn't given much thought to the other people she would finally get to know, too. That morning at school, though, standing in the midst of kids who had grown up together and been friends or enemies all of their lives, Shauna had forgotten all about meeting her dad and just tried her best to get through her first day.  
It had awed as much as it had terrified her that her parents and aunts and uncles had once walked those very halls- and that she would be in some of their favorite teachers' classes. Her mom had told her all about Mr. Feeney, the teacher-turned-principal-turned-teacher-turned-principal again that had lived next door to her grandparents since before Morgan Matthews had even been born, and about Mr. Turner, the motorcycle-riding teacher who'd taken her dad in when his father had taken off after his wife and helped to show her dad what a home was.  
And when she'd seen on the schedule that her guidance counselor- a white-haired old woman with a pinched mouth and her nose permanently stuck so high in the air, Shauna had wondered how she didn't have a nosebleed- had given her earlier that very morning, since she'd been enrolled at the very last minute, she'd been amazed by what she had found: English 9 HN- Turner, J., Period 2 (9th grade Honors English), and in the very top left-hand corner, Principal: George Feeney.  
She'd wondered what stories they could tell her about the students they'd not only taught but welcomed into their hearts and lives so many years before. She'd wondered if they would tell her about how those students had changed their lives, and not just how they had changed the students'. And she'd wondered if George Feeney and Jonathan Turner knew how much she was going to change their lives… and how much they were going to change hers.  
Meeting her cousin had been a wonderful surprise, seeing as she hadn't even considered the possibility that they might be in any of the same classes. She'd taken to Sam immediately, though, and she was sure that she had a new best friend in the friendly young girl, and it had been just as nice meeting Georgie, Trick, and her uncle Josh.  
But it had been meeting Mr. Turner and Mr. Feeney that had hit her the hardest- those two men that had guided her father along the bumpy path that had been his childhood, adolescence, and teenage years; the men that her entire family had embraced. Her uncle Cory and aunt Topanga had even honored Mr. Feeney by naming their oldest daughter after him.  
And what had George Feeney thought when he'd discovered that, Shauna wondered now as she sat between several of her cousins and let her gaze wander over to the principal. What had it been like to find out that two students he'd invested so much in, loved so much, had named their child after him? Shauna was sure he'd been moved beyond words.  
As she met her father's gaze, she recalled what it had been like to step into the kitchen and come face-t0o-face with her dad… It had been like getting sucker-punched in the stomach, and she was sure she'd stopped breathing there for a minute or two, before her heart-rate had sky-rocketed and her lungs had raced to draw in air. Now, she couldn't stop staring at him- all her life, her mom had told her how much she looked like her dad, but it had been amazing to actually see it for herself. Though, she knew that as much as she looked like Shawn Hunter, she was a miniature Morgan in personality, which came perhaps from having more of a best friend relationship with her young mom than a traditional mother-daughter relationship.   
She watched her dad's eyes move to her mom, standing next to her eldest brother, and felt like jumping for joy when she saw what she was sure had to be love shining in his gaze- could it possibly be that her dad loved her mom as much as her mom loved him? Was there anything in the world that would make Morgan, and therefore her daughter, happier?


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Nope, Santa didn't give me the rights to BMW this year… Maybe next year…

**A/N:** Sorry, sorry, sorry! I hope you all like this next chapter; it didn't go quite the way I expected it to, but then they rarely do. I'm happy with it, though, and hope you all are, too. Review, if you will, and let me know how you like it, even if you find you don't like it at all. Thanks for reading! -Jess

**Chapter Seven**

Cory sat and talked with Topanga, the woman he loved more than life itself, and waited for Shawn to start up a conversation with Shauna. And waited. And waited. After thirty minutes of watching Shawn watch Shauna, Cory decided it was time to intervene. After all, hadn't Shawn always jumped in when Cory needed help? Hadn't Shawn been there to calm his nerves the day he'd found out he was going to be a father for the first time?

Going to be a father- not something Shawn had ever heard. He'd never had the chance to become accustomed to the idea that he would be a father. In fact, Cory knew better than anyone- mostly because Shawn had never told anyone else- that he'd long ago given up hope of ever being a father. He knew that Shawn didn't think he deserved to be a father. And now he was- suddenly, he had a fourteen year old daughter with a little girl he'd grown up with.

Cory wasn't passing judgment- that would mean he'd have to think about Shawn and Morgan being together like… well, like _that_, and he did not by any means want to think of his best friend and his baby sister _together_. But watching Shawn soldier on as he had the past fifteen years, Cory had to stop and wonder if it was really Angela his best friend had been mourning the loss of all these years or if it was someone else entirely- a blond hair and blue-eyed someone else.

And Cory knew that if it was, if loving Morgan, if being with Morgan, was what it would take to see his best friend- the brother who had always been there for him- happy again, then he'd be fine with that. Hell, if that was what it would take to make Shawn happy again, really and truly happy, Cory would do whatever it took to make it happen.

He gave his wife's shoulder a gentle squeeze, stood, and crossed the living room to stand beside the man that had been his brother for more than half their lives and asked quietly, "What's wrong, Shawnie?"

The childhood nickname had never gone away. Eventually, it had gone from being annoying to simply being tolerated, to being accepted… and even needed. Right now, Shawn needed it- it was a source of comfort to him, in a way. It reminded him of simpler times; times he never would have thought he'd ever call "simpler," like when Chet was on the road chasing Verna, when he and Jack thought they had nothing in common, when his biggest problem was his big mouth… when he didn't have a fourteen-year-old daughter he'd never known about with a woman he should have thought of like a sister but didn't.

"I can't do this, Cor. I mean, look at her," Shawn said, gesturing toward his teenage daughter, who was currently sitting on the steps with her cousins. Laughing, chatting about whatever it was teenage girls talked about- as though she'd always been there. They'd all welcomed her with open arms, embraced her. She and Sam were pretty much inseparable already.

"What about her?" Cory asked, confused because he was seeing a happy, apparently already well-adjusted young girl who was loved by every person in that house and knew it. What was Shawn seeing?

Shawn shook his head in dismay. "I'm not father material, Cor. I can't be the dad she needs or the dad she wants."

Ah… So, it was exactly as he'd thought- the old insecurities had resurfaced. It was understandable, depending on how you looked at it. And, apparently, Shawn was looking at it from the viewpoint of biology. He was thinking of Chet, and how let down he had felt by his father- by that father- as a teenager.

Cory was strange and he'd long ago accepted that. He had a strange relationship with Shawn, at least in the eyes of many people they'd all met over the years. And he'd accepted that, too. Since becoming a father himself, Cory had wondered- more than once- what thoughts would run through Shawn's mind if he ever had children of his own. He thought he knew his best friend, his brother, well enough to know.

He was disappointed to learn that he did, in fact, know Shawn so well. What he wouldn't give to make Shawn see that he deserved happiness as much as anyone else in that room. But Shawn didn't see that, didn't see what everyone else saw in him- what some people in that very room had only ever dreamed they would see, rather than glimpse, that Shawn wasn't just capable of being the man he'd shown himself to be tonight, but that he was that man. And, knowing all of that, Cory had thought long and hard over the years about what he would say if ever the situation arose.

He clapped a hand over Shawn's shoulder and asked, "Shawn, am I father material?"

Shawn turned his head abruptly to face his long-time friend, one eyebrow arched curiously. "Yeah, Cory, you are." It wasn't anything he hadn't told Cory before. Trick, Georgie, and Sam were all good kids and, as far as Shawn was concerned, lucky to have Cory and Topanga for parents. But he didn't see where Cory was going with this. Of course, when Cory took it upon himself to teach him something, he rarely understood the lesson until it was concluded.

"Didn't we grow up together, with all of the same people influencing our lives? Didn't we have the same teachers, in and out of school?" Cory asked, watching Shawn as he slowly realized what he was saying.

"Yeah," Shawn said slowly and with just a hint of smile, grateful once again for a friend- a brother- like Cory. He didn't know what he'd ever done to deserve the brotherhood he'd long ago found with Cory, and maybe sometimes he went a little far in protecting that brotherhood, but he'd known from an early age that he would be hard pressed to find anybody that would care about him like Cory, be there for him without question as Cory had been so many times.

"Aren't we brothers, Shawnie?" Cory questioned, his expression as serious as Shawn had ever seen it.

Shawn nodded, the light finally dawning on him fully. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised or not, but he wasn't at all. Leave it to Cory to point out the obvious in the most round-about-way he could think of. But he was right, and they both knew it.

"Yeah, Cor. We are," Shawn told him because it was true. In all the years they'd known each other, through the hard times and the great times and all the times between, there had never been any question that Shawn Hunter and Cory Matthews were brothers. Not to Cory, at least. Had Shawn questioned it? Sometimes. Had he tested it? Oh, yeah. Had he pushed it to the limits? On more than one occasion. Had any of that every changed it? Never. Because they were brothers- to Alan and Amy, to Eric and Jack, Rachel and Topanga and Kellie, to all their kids, to George and Jonathan… to Chet and Verna… To anyone they'd ever meet and everyone they'd met so far, they were brothers.

And being Cory's brother, Shawn knew saw what Cory had wanted him to see. Biology didn't dictate what kind of father you would be, just as it didn't dictate who you could claim as a brother, or a father, or a mother. Alan and Amy, whom he'd claimed for years as his parents, had prepared him for this as well as any parent could prepare their child. They'd provided him with a good example, shown him how to be the type of parent he wanted to be to Shauna. He could do this. Everything he'd ever wanted was right in front of him, and all he had to do was move his feet just enough to be right beside her and say hello; everything else would settle into place after that. Shawn Hunter was a father, and he'd been taught by the best to be a dad.

Shawn nodded once more before stepping away from Cory and heading, slowly, for the steps. He caught Sam's eye and she dragged her other cousins off up the stairs, being perceptive enough to know that the time had finally come for father and daughter to set their uneasiness- mostly Shawn's, she could guess from knowing him her entire life- and finally get to know one another.

Shauna looked up and met Shawn's gaze, surprising her father- he didn't see any of the nervousness that he himself felt reflected in her eyes, didn't see any hint of fear or apprehension. All he saw was light, bright and dazzling light. Excitement and anxiousness. Hope.

He wondered if Cory had felt this way when he'd first held Trick, Georgie, and Sam. This instant love that felt like it was strangling him but setting him free at the same time. He'd known you could love somebody completely the second you met them; he'd felt that the first time he'd ever held one of his nieces or nephews. That's what this felt like, only a million times stronger. And the eyes staring back at him, so trusting and hopeful, weren't a newborn infant's- they were a fourteen year old girl's, who'd heard the stories of his past and knew the pain he'd caused so many of the other people she loved, including her mother. She knew all of it, or most of it, and trusted him, wanted him to be a part of her life, wanted him to be her dad anyway. And Shawn knew that once again, for reasons he'd never be able to explain but would always be thankful for, he'd been blessed with something he was sure he didn't deserve but would fight for with everything he had in him.

Shawn sat down on the step beside his daughter, in the spot Sam had just vacated, and draped his arms casually over his knees. "So…" he said lamely, not sure where to start. He had so much to say, to ask, to learn.

Shauna laughed at his nervousness. She'd waited all her life for this moment; she couldn't believe it was finally here. "Twenty Questions?" she asked with a smile in an effort to get her dad to loosen up a little.

It worked. Shawn started laughing and she joined in, causing Cory to look up from the seat he'd reclaimed on the sofa beside Topanga and smile. Now, if only he knew how Morgan felt about Shawn and why she'd kept Shauna from him, everything would be perfect. As he watched his brother and his niece, talking and laughing for the first time, Cory knew that perfection could wait a little bit longer while father and daughter had their time together.

"I don't even know where to being here, Shauna. I mean, I don't know when you were born, or what your first word was, or what your favorite color is. Who's your best friend, or what your favorite subject is in school. I don't know if you're allergic to anything, what your favorite food is, what type of music you listen to, or what your favorite movie is." He knew all of that about all of his nieces and nephews and their parents; he knew it about Josh, Amy, and Alan. He knew all of it about Morgan, or about Morgan when she'd been eighteen, but he didn't know it about his daughter- he would, though. He'd learn everything there was to know about his daughter, from her and from Morgan, and he'd watch as she discovered his beloved city and took in all of the things he loved about it for the first time.

Shauna smiled brightly at her father. With one finger lightly tapping her chin and her brow scrunched, she pretended to think for a moment before replying, "I was born in L.A. and, according to my baby book, my first word was "up." My favorite color is blue, and my best friend _was_ Kayla Mitchell, but she moved a year ago, and I haven't heard from her since. I'm allergic to penicillin, but don't have any food allergies, which is good because I love food. My favorite music depends on my mood, and the same goes for movies."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **First, let me just say that I am sorry for the huge delay- though, in all fairness, anyone's who has read my profile knows that I said it might take a while, probably longer than you guys might like, but I'll finish what stories I start on here. Life's been crazy- when isn't it, though? Well, I moved... again... Yeah, I do that a lot, it seems- more than I knew. I got married- and we're moving again (so you may not get another update for a little bit; my husband is separating from the Army for medical reasons and we are moving to Alabama to be closer to his family). Anyway... Here is the next chapter of this story- I really hope that you all like it. Oh, and can I just add that writer's block seriously sucks? -Jess

**Disclaimer: **Nope, haven't gained the rights to _Boy Meets World_ in however long it's been since I last updated...

**Chapter Eight**

Shauna grinned at her dad- her mom had captured his attention once again. The whole evening, his gaze had gone back and forth between her and Morgan- how her mother missed that was beyond the teenager, and she rolled her eyes at that thought even as she spoke.

"You love her."

Shawn's attention immediately turned to his daughter once again at the sound of her voice. She hadn't asked if he loved Morgan- she'd made it a statement of fact. For a moment, he thought about denying it but decided he really didn't want to kick off his relationship with his daughter by lying to her about his feelings for her mother.

"Yeah," he said with a weary sigh, "I do."

He just had no idea what he was going to do about it. If he told Morgan, would she believe him? His mind answered with a resounding, "No." He seriously doubted she would. More than likely, she'd tell him that he was just saying it because of Shauna. He could practically hear Morgan telling him that he didn't have to claim to be in love with her in order to give their daughter the kind of family he'd always wanted as a kid- the kind he'd had, but had been too blind to see.

He figured the reason he was so sure she'd say something like that was probably because he'd had that very same argument with himself already. He knew none of it was true, though- he wasn't trying to convince himself of feelings he didn't really have for Morgan simply for their daughter's sake.

He was really, truly, absolutely in love with Morgan Matthews.

The way he figured it, he probably had been in love with her for years- as with many other things in his life, though, Shawn had just been too stubborn to see it, let alone admit it even to himself. He'd done a fairly good job of avoiding facing the fact by pretty much wiping all thoughts of Morgan from his mind pretty much the moment they popped up.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Shauna questioned, pulling her father from his thoughts. His gaze met hers again and he noticed the way she'd quirked her eyebrow just so when she'd asked the question- geez, she really was the spitting image of him, wasn't she?

Shawn didn't have an answer for her, at least not other than he had no idea what he was going to do. With another sigh, he said as much- he didn't think his daughter liked his answer very much, though. She shook her head and looked at him as if he was a lost cause- at least in this case.

Maybe he was.

"Why can't you just tell her? It's not that hard, you know," she told him and she looked so serious that Shawn had to fight back a laugh as he thought back over the years- how many times had he seen that exact look on Morgan's face? Shauna may look like him, but she had more than a touch of her mother's personality in her. He supposed that having a teenage daughter who acted more like Morgan was much better than having one that acted like he had at that age- especially when his godson could be so much like him sometimes that it was almost scary.

Realizing that he hadn't answered her question- and she was giving him another one of those looks he'd once gotten so often from her mother on a regular basis- Shawn shook his head and said, "It's complicated."

Now it was Shauna's turn to shake her head and give a long, drawn-out sigh. "Why do adults always say that?"

She didn't give him the chance to answer, though. Instead, she turned to climb the stairs- probably heading off to join her cousins. He wondered what kind of trouble he and the rest of the family were in for- would Shauna and Sam teaming up be anything like Josh, Georgie, and Trick ganging up together? If so, things were bound to get just a little more interesting.

Jonathan had watched his young student head up-stairs- a familiar look of determination glinting in her eyes as she'd stood up had made him smile. He walked over and took a seat on the stair beside his former pupil- one who'd been the cause of several worry-filled nights of restless sleep years before. "How's it going, Shawn?"

Shawn had lost track of how many times he'd felt like a fifteen-year-old kid again that night, but whatever the number was, he could now add one more to it. He ran a hand through his hair and looked over at his former teacher and guardian.

Years ago, Jonathan Turner had once understood Shawn better than a lot of other people- sometimes, even better than Shawn had understood himself- and it had always been fairly easy to open-up to the other man and talk things through. Now, he found that he was still just as comfortable with Jonathan as he'd once been, that he was still able to let him in and tell him what was going on inside his head.

"I'm in love with Morgan Matthews," he said, fully expecting Jonathan to arch one eyebrow the way he had so many times before when Shawn had been a teenager and start in on a series of questions that would make him do something he'd professed to hate as a teen- think.

He wasn't disappointed.

"Are you now?" Jonathan asked, one graying eyebrow raised.

Shawn almost chuckled at the evidence of just how little Jonathan had apparently changed over the years, but merely nodded his head instead. "Yep," he added, sounding a little put-out- mostly because he really wished he had some idea of what to do next. He couldn't go on ignoring his feelings for Morgan, locking them away in some box in the back of his mind. Even if he wanted to, he doubted that Shauna would allow that, especially since he figured she was probably already plotting with Sam- and maybe several other cousins- upstairs.

Jonathan nodded his head in acknowledgment of Shawn's statement and took a moment to mull it over in his mind. After what seemed like an eternity to Shawn, he finally spoke again. "And when did you come to this conclusion?"

"Earlier tonight." One look at Jonathan's face and Shawn knew what was coming next.

He waited until Shawn had turned to look him right in the eye before asking, "Are you sure?" It was a question he needed to ask, though, looking at Shawn now, he knew the answer before the younger man spoke.

"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't," Shawn replied.

Once again, Jonathan nodded, accepting those words as the truth. Love wasn't something he thought anyone should take lightly, and he knew that Shawn had always taken at least that much seriously- he'd valued those he loved and who loved him in return more highly than any others; he'd do anything for the people he called family because he'd always seen love as something he didn't deserve.

He also knew that Shawn wouldn't profess to loving his best friend's little sister- even fifteen years after fathering a child with her- unless he absolutely did. He wouldn't risk his friendship with Cory that way- not the young man sitting beside him. Heck, even the Shawn he'd known as a teenager wouldn't have pushed their friendship quite that far, not that way.

So, when Shawn Hunter said that he was sure he was in love with Morgan Matthews, Jonathan knew he had to believe it.

"So now you just need a way to convince Morgan that you love her for herself, not for Shauna," he said. The look on Shawn's face said that he'd been trying to do just that since he'd realized those feelings- and he'd come up empty.

"That's easier said than done," Shawn replied, running a hand over his face wearily.

"I'm sure it is, Shawn," Jonathan said with a nod, "but you'll figure something out." Of that, he had no doubts- Shawn could do just about anything when he set his mind to it; hadn't he proven that often enough in the past?

**Author's Note 2: Okay, so, you want a faster update? Help me come up with an idea for Shawn- please! **


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